‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’ review: In the mind of Bruce

The story of The Boss coming to terms with his past and driving out the darkness makes for compelling drama in Scott Cooper’s Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

The music biopic is something that audiences have become somewhat accustomed to throughout the history of film. We tend to get at least one or two of these films every few years and, especially in the last ten years, we get bombarded with them. Just last year we had A Complete Unknown, which saw Timothée Chalamet portray Bob Dylan to great acclaim. This year we have Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, which challenges the status quo of the music biopic genre and delivers a film that will change the way you hear Bruce Springsteen’s music.

The film stars Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) as Bruce, the pride of New Jersey who is known by millions as “The Boss.” The story focuses on a period in the early 1980’s and what would become the birth of his album Nebraska. His manager Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) rents Bruce a quiet house on a lake in a town close to where he grew up in New Jersey. As Bruce begins to settle into his new place, his mind begins to dwell on his childhood and his troubled home life. Throughout the film we see more of these glimpses of the verbal and physical abuse that Bruce’s alcoholic father (Stephen Graham) put he and his mother (Gaby Hoffmann) through.

These glimpses of the past begin to influence the tone of the music he begins writing and his relationship with a woman he becomes involved with named Faye (Odessa Young). We watch as Bruce pushes everyone that cares about him away as he tries his hardest to preserve the sound and emotion behind these new songs, even if it means shelving the songs that make up what we now know was his biggest album to date, “Born In the U.S.A.” All of this leads Bruce on an introspective journey that changes his life forever and creates the man that we all know today.

Deep cuts.

Photo Credit: 20th Century Studios

I consider myself a casual Bruce Springsteen fan and know a handful of his songs. Going into Deliver Me from Nowhere with little knowledge of The Boss, I wasn’t sure of what to expect from co-writer/director Scott Cooper’s take on this music legend’s life. Of the many pleasant surprises this movie has to offer, the story itself stands out. A lot of biopics try to tackle the subject’s entire life from birth to death and how they either have to rush through it while missing a lot or they make the movie so long that the audience gets lost halfway through. This film decides to pick what is arguably the most important moment in Bruce’s life and dive deep into the mental state he was in during his creative process for the album. It shows just how intensely attached and stubborn he was about his music and how uncompromising he had to be to make the album he wanted when the executives just wanted a big hit.

Instead of the story’s big climactic moment being a specific performance or achievement, it’s Bruce coming to terms with his traumatic childhood and getting the help he needed all along. The film ends up being less about the music and more of an exploration of how unresolved trauma and ignoring your mental health can affect your life. Cooper sprinkles all these small, quiet moments throughout the film that seem insignificant, but are a really a peak inside Bruce’s mind. In a quiet moment near the end of the film, Bruce and Jon sit on the floor and listen to Nebraska before each putting a hand on the other and smiling. This small detail highlights the relationship that Bruce and Jon had the entire time was exactly what Bruce wanted so badly from his father. Although the pain was still there from his childhood, he at least knew that Jon was always there and always had his back.

Boys in the band.

Photo Credit: 20th Century Studios

When a story is as well-written and constructed as this one is, you need some strong actors to elevate the material. This movie would not have worked as well as it did without White and Strong. Following in the footsteps of Chalamet, White puts the work in to become The Boss. There are several moments throughout the film where it’s easy to forget you’re hearing his voice singing and not Bruce’s. Along with his musical performances, White’s acting is raw and emotionally charged just as fans of his previous work expect from him. Strong portrays Jon Landau in a way that made him feel like a father, brother, and friend to Bruce when he needed it the most.

The main complaint that I’ve seen about the film is that it’s too dark and sad. I can understand this reaction, seeing as most of the music biopics we get are more upbeat overall. Deliver Me from Nowhere certainly has somber moments, but the journey of unknown musician to rockstar has a natural positivity to it. The few flashback sequences and scenes of Bruce driving around are unnecessary, but they don’t take away the raw emotion at the movie’s core. Springsteen has been very open about his mental health struggles, and Nebraska is the literal embodiment of all those dark thoughts. This film isn’t about his journey to stardom and all the obstacles he faced; it was about one specific moment and the how hard it was to push through.

The bottom line.

With a solid script, some truly memorable performances, and beautifully haunting music from a legend of the industry, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere shines light on a true music talent who was having trouble getting out of the darkness. Seeing a biopic formatted like this and focusing on one aspect of a subject’s life is something that other filmmakers should take note of going forward. We need more intimate portraits of humanity and exploring how the music we love was formed.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is now playing in theaters everywhere. Watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of 20th Century Studios. Read more articles by Tyler Carlsen here.

Tyler Carlsen

From a young age, Tyler has been amazed by filmmaking and writing. When he’s not watching movies in theaters, he also enjoys playing video games and binging one of the numerous shows he’s watching at any given moment. Working with The Young Folks was a highlight of his writing career and he is looking forward to this new adventure with In Between Drafts!